A research carried out in Zanzibar, for example, shows that many girls opt for anal sex to preserve their virginity. Prof Njogu said, “If we create an atmosphere that is welcoming, youthful, informal and culturally appropriate for all the youth using the services, we could help these girls a lot from this problem.”

The youth have bigger risk of getting early pregnancy and contracting sexually transmitted deseases (STDs) but unwilling to access services facilities, a research has revealed. Delivering a paper during the ongoing Media Workshop on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health MNCH in Dar es Salaam on Friday,

Professor Kimani Njogu said traditionally, maternal and child health and family planning clinics were designed to serve childbearing and child spacing needs of married women. Nevertheless, due to cultural sensitivities, the services were withheld from young, unmarried people. Prof Njogu is a Media analyst and a researcher from Kenya.